


Your Smiling Face

by Liquified_Organs



Series: All The Roses Falling [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dog Tags, Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Irish Steve Rogers, M/M, Original Character(s), Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Reminiscing, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liquified_Organs/pseuds/Liquified_Organs
Summary: O Danny Boy, the stream flows cool and slowlyAnd pipes still call and echo 'cross the glenYour broken mother sighs and feels so lowly,For you have not returned to smile againSo if you've died and crossed the stream before us,We pray that angels met you on the shoreAnd you'll look down, and gently you'll implore usTo live so we may see your smiling face once more
Relationships: George Barnes/Winifred Barnes, James "Bucky" Barnes & Gabe Jones & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Howling Commandos, James "Bucky" Barnes & Rebecca Barnes Proctor & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan, James "Bucky" Barnes & Winifred Barnes & Sarah Rogers & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Rebecca Barnes Proctor/Rebecca Barnes Proctor's Husband, Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan & Steve Rogers
Series: All The Roses Falling [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543744
Kudos: 26





	Your Smiling Face

"Steven!" Winifred pulled Steve into a bear hug. "How have you been?"

"Not bad, ma'am. Work keeps me busy, so I don't really have time to worry about what could be happening in Europe."

Winifred nodded sympathetically. "I was the same way when George left for Europe. It'll get easier soon enough."

"I hope so," Steve mumbled.

Winifred huffed and shook her head. "This was supposed to be a cheerful visit! Come into the living room, make yourself comfortable. I just finished making some tea..." She hurried off to the kitchen while Steve settled into a puffy armchair and began to reacclimate himself to the tiny apartment. 

Along one wall of the living room was a series of portraits and photographs of the Barnes family. Steve and Sarah were in a few of them, but Steve had been behind the camera or the easel for the rest. His favorite was of him, Bucky, Sarah, and Becca at Coney Island on Steve's 11th birthday. He and Sarah were hugging in the center, while Rebecca and Bucky were throwing handmade confetti in the background.

A knock on the main door startled Steve out of his trance. He stood and hurried to answer. "I'll get it, Mrs. Barnes!"

He opened the door to two uniformed men standing on the ratty welcome mat. The man on the left carefully removed his bowler's cap. "Is this the Barnes residence?"

\---

Steve led the officers- who had introduced themselves as Timothy Dugan and Gabriel Jones- to the living room, where Winifred was setting down a kettle and two mugs. When she saw the two officers, her face turned white and her eyes filled with tears. Steve rushed over to comfort her while the two officers awkwardly stood next to the sofa.

Once Winifred had calmed down enough to speak, she turned to the officers. "Is James really...?"

When they nodded, Steve felt the world tipping to the side, almost knocking him to the ground. Faintly, he could hear the officers reassuring Winifred that Bucky had died saving a fellow soldier on the battlefield, that he had died a hero's death.

Dugan gently touched Steve's shoulder. "Are you Steve Rogers?" When Steve nodded, he gestured to the other officer, and they both steered him into the nearest bedroom.

They sat in silence as Steve tried to continue to process the information. "So, Bucky, he-" Steve swallowed. "Did they retrieve his body?"

Jones nodded. "The rest of the team will be escorting it here for the funeral."

Dugan sniffled. "He talked about you all the time. On mail day, he was always the first to get his letters. He always kept them in his jacket so that he'd never lose them."

Steve's bottom lip trembled, and he barely managed to hold back his tears. "Did he- did he leave me anything?"

Dugan drew out a large briefcase. "He wrote a will during boot camp." He pulled out a ratty piece of paper. _"To Steve Rogers, I leave all of my savings, my jacket, and my dog tags. To the end of the line, pal."_

\---

"Will you tell me about Uncle Bucky?" James Proctor sat on his godfather's lap. Steve chuckled. "I've told you everything, Jamie! What more do you want, béirín?"

"Why did he have to go fight?"

Steve's smile became sad. "America was fighting bad people, Jamie. We needed all the big, strong, men fighting as we could get."

"Did you go?"

"I wasn't as strong as Uncle Bucky was back then. They wouldn't let a man as unhealthy as I was fight with the big guys. Didn't stop me from trying, though."

"Do you miss him?"

"Every day, béirín."

\---

Bucky watched Steve play with his nephew, telling stories about the fun he and Steve had had as children. Now Steve was old, older than either of them had thought he would ever become. Little James didn't yet know about the love his godfather and late uncle had really held for each other, hadn't found the photo strip hidden beneath the clutter of the hospital bills and absent sketches.

Steve's life was fading quickly, his health declining as his age peaked. Bucky could only hope that little Jamie would remember his godfather, remember the stories of the two boys from Brooklyn.

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> béirín- little bear (Gaelic)


End file.
